The number of oil rigs in the U.S. increased by five this week, according to oilfield services company Baker Hughes data released on Friday.
The oil rig count in the country rose to 810 for the week ending April 20, from 805 in the previous week, the data showed.
This marked the 11th weekly increase in the number of oil rigs in the past 13 weeks.
With the rise in the number of oil rigs, crude oil prices showed small decline on Friday.
International benchmark Brent crude fell to $73.64 per barrel at 1315 EST (1715 GMT) with a daily loss of 0.2 percent, while American benchmark was at $68.05 a barrel at that time with a daily decline of 0.3 percent.
The U.S.' Energy Information Administration (EIA) data showed on Wednesday that crude oil production in the country rose by 15,000 barrels per day (bpd) to reach a new record high of 10.54 million bpd for the week ending April 13.
This is the 13th time that the crude oil output showed an increase over the span of the past 14 weeks.
The EIA expects crude oil production in the U.S. to average 10.7 million barrels per day (bpd) this year, and 11.4 million bpd next year, according to its Short-Term Energy Outlook report for April.
By Ovunc Kutlu in New York
Anadolu Agency
energy@aa.com.tr